1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to telecommunication systems, and more particularly, to concepts and techniques for switching channels on a wireless communications device in a multimedia broadcast system.
2. Background
Recent advances in technology has dramatically increased the capabilities of wireless communication devices. Today, many wireless communication devices provide, in addition to tradition telephony, multimedia broadcast services in a mobile environment. Various multimedia broadcast systems are currently being deployed and developed to efficiently and economically distribute multimedia content to millions of wireless communication devices. One example is Qualcomm's MediaFLO technology. MediaFLO technology allow users to surf channels of multimedia content on a wireless communications device typically used for traditional cellular voice and data services.
The multimedia content broadcast on each channel is often referred to as a service. Each service includes one or more flows. By way of example, a cable news service may include a video flow, an audio flow, and a signaling flow. The signaling flow may include various items such as a decryption key and other information needed to receive the video and audio portion of the broadcast for that service. At the application level, each flow is carried in a stream. The streams for each service are transmitted through the physical layer on one or more media logical channels.
One goal of most multimedia broadcast systems is to create an enjoyable viewing experience for a user on a wireless communications device. Technology that allows a user to surf channels of multimedia content quickly goes a long way towards achieving this objective. This requires a methodology that enables a wireless communications device to rapidly acquire media logical channels and access any information (e.g., a decryption key) required to receive the service.